


CASE 3017

by Bonniebird17



Category: Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Angst, Case Fic, Crime AU, F/M, Family, I’m going to try to keep it fluffy between the wife and hubby this time, Love, and focus on the crime solving and love, i promise I will try to make it less
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-03-05 12:49:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18828997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bonniebird17/pseuds/Bonniebird17
Summary: Arc III. This is a continuing story, read part one - Case 0215 and part 2 - Case 407.Life has treated Detective Jamie Fraser good the past two years. Allowing him to peacefully watch his children grow and at the same time deal with his wife’s new occupation. He is no longer the only one who wants to serve and protect.This arc begins at their anniversary, a night that was supposed to filled with romance and alone time, where something dark and evil comes out of nowhere, threatening the people of Scotland.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are again. A new case. I hope you will enjoy this arc as you have liked the rest. 
> 
> Once again, the lovely and kind @Purplehearherdream was beta. ILU.

**2021**

 

_ In time, even the deepest wound heal _ _ s _ _. The scar will always be a reminder, but it doesn’t hurt anymore. Not as much anyway. _

 

Being a father was incredible and being the father to  _ one _ (almost) four-year old daughter and to two-year old twins was beyond this world. For better and for worse. 

 

Ellen, Sophie , and Alexander.

 

They changed my life.

 

They gave my life so much purpose and because of them not only had I gotten the ability to multitask, I had also forgotten the word sleep and the meaning  of it. 

 

_ Little monsters.  _ There, I said it. They were three small, small, small monsters in disguise, wearing the faces of the most cutest and angelic human beings. 

 

That Claire and I had made it this far was, in my opinion, award worthy. Maybe every parent felt  like that? The proud moment when you could pat your shoulder at the end of the day for successfully keeping all of them alive and well. 

 

_ And _ for not accidentally running away \- e scaping somewhere quiet and clean. 

 

That was a parent joke. Parents were allowed to say them as long as they loved and took care of their children.

 

Ask anyone. Ask my wife, Claire. Soon  to  also  be known as -  _ Police  _ _ O _ _ fficer Claire Fraser. _ She has for months in and out, studied law and recently reinforcements and she can tell you all about it.  _ The parents law _ \- as long as you love you r kids endlessly, it’s okay to secretly want and dream about taking a time out  to hide, and lately the joke had been said almost daily. We were exhausted. 

 

We still lived in our pink house. It ha d not been repainted and probably never would be. 

 

That was the downsides of living in a house were the majority of population was female. They outvoted me  on  almost everything.  _ Sigh _ , even Alexander preferred the house pink. 

 

That’s what you get when you raise your children “right”. Gender had no color, pink wasn’t girly in this household, just pretty, and the oldest child was very good  at persua sion .

 

“Daddy, I  _ need _ to have a pink house,” Ellen used to say when I suggested repainting. “Or else Santa doesn’t know where I live. I told him  that  we lived in the pink one.”

 

So that was that. The Fraser’s lived in the pink house at the end of the street. Couldn’t risk Santa not knowing where we lived. 

 

The small back garden  was  our latest project. Claire wanted it to be a “zen zone.” She was nuts, but when ha ve I ever said no to my wife. I rebuilt the back porch  so that it was big enough we could fit a table for future summer dinners and barbecues. We scratched away the old white paint and repainted the fence, pink of course, and planted flowers and  other  plants everywhere. The results looked more like a sugarush than “zen”. 

 

Memories w ere made and the children loved it. 

 

Even though we were outnumbered by kids and we hadn’t slept a whole night for months, life was pretty fantastic. 

 

I called this period of our  life \- he a ling. Because that was exactly the right word to describe our lives. 

 

We were almost completely healed from all the pain that we had been through in past years. Claire was technically still suffering from amnesia but that didn’t matter anymore. She remembered what mattered and  I filled in the rest.  We no longer spoke of her mental state because it didn’t affect our lives anymore. 

 

We had new memories to remember.  _ An e _ _ ndless  _ _ amount  _ _ of them. _

 

Ellen’s first sentence,  her  first curse word, first day of kindergarten, first time on a bicycle, and first time baking.

 

The twins first words,  their first smiles,  when they were learning to crawl, to roll around,  their  first step, and first everything.

 

We had  captured most of them in photos, videos and in our hearts. 

 

The first year was hard, I’m not going to lie.  There  w ere times (so many) I desperately wanted to be de a f, to shield myself from all the screaming. If it wasn’t Sophie or Sander, it was Ellen. 

 

Back when Ellen's terrible twos was combined with one-year old twins running around on unsteady legs. It was a blur, I almost don’t remember anything from that time. I only had two arms and two hands, there w as too many  of them  and I couldn’t even please one  of them at a time . 

 

Thank god that's over.

 

At least now we could communicate with everyone.  _ Oh, wait. _ I forgot, the terrible twos w ere now double. Sofie and Alexander just turned two. 

 

That’s how tired I am. I don’t even remember what I ate yesterday.

 

But it was all going to change in a few days, hopefully. I had been home from work over the last couple of months to take care of the children while Claire was studying to become a police officer. 

 

_ Police academy. _

 

I was always impressed by my wife, by  h ow determined and focused she was when she had set her mind to something. 

 

Nothing was stopping her. 

 

Not even me and I had tried t o , so many times. And failed  just  as many times .

 

The children loved that mommy was going to work with daddy.  To c atch all the bad  guys together. 

 

_ But that wasn’t reality. _

 

Reality was that Claire was going to endanger herself, every single day, and that was so hard for me to grasp. That of course was part of my job too, but I never wanted  that for her.

 

Stubborn wife.  A lso brave.  But m ostly very stubborn.

 

_ “Everytime I get within reach  _ _ of _ _ the woman I want to become, the image of her transforms and I grow,” Claire had said. “This is me growing, Jamie.” _

 

_ “Couldn’t you grow into anything besides this.” _

 

_ “Could you?” _

 

_ No I couldn’t either. I wanted to be a policeman. Always ha _ _ ve. _

 

I couldn’t win the argument. Obviously not, because Claire graduated a few days ago.

 

I was mostly proud, but worried nevertheless.

 

I was going back to work in a few day s, which  was also Claire ’s first day. She acted like it was  the first day of school, going on and on about who she would  be partnering up with and what crimes she was going solve. My only thought was that I wanted her safe. 

 

I had no doubt that she would be excellent. But as her husband, I was scared  that  she would be hurt. She was so reckless. 

 

No  _ real _ problems existed in our lives. No Geneva, no kidnappings, no hidden criminals in the guest room, no crazy women drugging me. It was normal, loud, and mostly joyful.

 

Jenny and Ian had their son, James- named after me. I was fun uncle Jamie and it was role I took very seriously. I called him  J unior.

 

Tina and John were currently living in Barbados with their daughter, Mila. They had moved around these past years and it was so heartwarming that they had finally found  _ home _ . The wedding invitation had been a surprise. We were the only ones invited and I was hesitant about attending. They were technically criminals on the run. 

 

Nobody had seen Laoghaire since the trial. I did receive a letter from her. She apologized for lying, said she was being blackmailed by Geneva. I didn’t care  enough  to even respond and was glad I hadn’t seen her. Rumors was that she had moved to Norway,  found a man called Rolf, and that she was happy there.

 

Angus Mhor, my best friend and partner. He was engaged to be married  to a French woman called Louise de La Tour. They met during a rugby game and instantly fell in love. It all had happened so fast, too fast, but I was happy for him and even more happy for Claire  since they were already so close. 

 

Mary and Jeremy still lived on in our lives. Sophie ’s middle name was Mary and Alexander’s was Jeremy. It was a small thing, maybe, but in that way they were always here.

 

My parents and Claire’s parents, we spoke of them often. Told the children bedtime stories about their grandparents. Some true stories and some fictional  ones  we made up. 

 

The most popular on es were the adventure stories where Queen Ellen and her husband, King Brian, flew over Scotland on their firespiting dragon, saving the world from evil. 

 

Or the magical love story between Julia and Henry. The sweet and loving witch who enchanted the warlock  that was always tried to steal the magic flowers  i n the meadow. The warlock only wanted the flowers to give  them  to the witch. 

 

All of them had happy endings and it always seemed to do the trick with Ellen. 

 

The twins were harder to persuade. Alexander, my sensitive son, still had a pacifier at night, but Sophie needed her stuffed horse and if these items w ere n’t handed  out in the right order... Things could be, well, impossible to even explain. 

 

Seventeen minutes apart. That was important for Sophie, she needed her horse before Alexander got his pacifier. She was older. She acted like it was a big deal, but she was two, two! How could she be this stubborn? She reminded me of my wife and big sister.

 

**15th of May, 2021**

 

We had been together  for  ten years and married for nine  _ today _ .

 

It can be said that everything blossoms and turns into something even more beautiful, but it can also go in the other direction. Parenting was hard and so was marriage.

 

We weren’t perfect.

 

We had been blessed in so many ways. 

 

But that blessing sometimes was taken for granted.

 

Today reminded me of that. 

 

_ Our anniversary. _

 

My paternity leave was ending, it was just days away until me and Claire w ere going to work complicated and hard hours again, but we had Fiona Graham, a young and bright woman who was going to be our nanny. The kids loved her. We loved her. 

 

Fiona was a natural and so kind, and she lived just four houses down. We are old family friends  since her mother  and mine were friends ,  which  helped. She was everything we w ere looking for when it came to  taking care  of the kids when we were at work. But it was still hard, so hard, imagining the days to come where we both w ere going to  be com ing home late and the kids would already be asleep. 

 

Our economy had been stable, allowing me to  be  a stay at home father while Claire was studying,  which was such a blessing. I felt sorry for those who couldn’t stay home longer. I learned so much about myself and  made so many wonderful memories with the children by staying home with them for this loving  time. 

 

Today, we were going to have somewhat  of a  practice day. Fiona had offered to take the children for the night and that fit perfectly with our anniversary. She was going to stay at our house and I was going to surprise Claire with a night  at a  hotel. No kids, just us. It had been awhile.

 

A night starting with dinner and drinks. Later on,  we’d check  into the hotel and  have  an evening without Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig. Just us. Hopefully  having  a lot of sex and then sleep. 

 

_ I don’t know what I have missed the most, sleep or sex.  _

 

**6:15 PM**

 

It was time to leave and the taxi was waiting outside. Ellen was fine with us leaving and so was Sander, but Sophie wasn’t. She  just  wasn’t having it.

 

Both Ellen and Alexander (Sander) always preferred Claire, but Sophie, my little curly  auburn haired warrior princess, was all  a  father ’ s girl. She was crying because I was leaving. Of course,  it was in part because we were both going, but mostly  it was  because she didn’t want to part with me. 

 

I sat on my knees in our hallway  with  little Sophie crying in my arms, crying so badly she couldn’t get a word out. 

 

“Sophie.” I kissed her wet cheek. “Fiona has promised that she will make homemade pizza tonight, it’s yer favorite, right?” I asked.

 

“Dinna want pizza.” Sophie answered. “Only  D addy.” 

 

“How about this. Ye stay here and eat pizza and tomorrow,  D addy will take you all to the National Museum of Scotland. How about that?” I asked.

 

“Just Sophie and  D addy?”

 

“No, lass. We’ll all go.”

 

“Don’t want it.”

 

“What do ye want, then?”

 

Sophie started thinking,  looking  adorable and very so thoughtful  as she did . She was smart and she knew she could make me do anything she asked right now because she was crying. This could end up with a four hour trip to Lallybroch or us spending hours baking.

 

“I want to...um…go to the park and then I want to buy ice cream.”

 

_ That was easy, _ I thought, amused. 

 

“Deal.” 

 

“Why does she get to decide?” Big sister Ellen asked, irritated. “I want to go to the Dino house.”

 

Dino house was the National Museum of Scotland. Ellen was still obsessed with dinosaurs.

 

“Because you decided last time, darling.” Claire joined the conversation in the hallway. “Let your sister have this one.”

 

Claire had been upstairs, getting ready and the result almost made me speechless. Christ she was sexy tonight.

 

One eyebrow arched and I whistled to really make sure she knew I how much appreciated her look. Claire laughed and spun around. The tight dark blue strapless dress made me want to skip dinner and drive directly to the hotel. Police training had been hard and the result of it was shown in that dress. Her ass, oh God I wanted to eat her up. Rip that dress apart and...

 

“You guys, have a wonderful time.” Fiona interrupted my dirty thoughts. 

 

“Aye, we should probably be going.”

 

Sophie was no longer crying and hugged her mother goodbye with her stuffed horse,  _ Sally, _ under her arm. 

 

“Bye Daddy.” Alexander was already wearing his pyjamas and looked tired. 

 

“Bye Sander. I love you beyond this world. You know that, right?”

 

“Aye.” Alexander smiled. “I love you to the moon.”

 

“And back?” I asked and he nodded. 

 

“That’s really a lot.” I answered and hugged him again. 

 

Ellen stood a few feet away, with her arms crossed. She was still irritated that we weren’t going to the museum tomorrow. I smiled towards her, hoping she would laugh. 

 

It almost worked.

 

“Ye have one minute before I have to leave, so if ye wanna hug me, this is the moment for it.” I said to Ellen and she didn’t even hesitate.

 

Ellen ran into my arms and hugged me so hard.

 

“I want to three ice creams tomorrow.” Ellen whispered into my ear, probably so her younger siblings wouldn’t hear.

 

“Two.” I compromised. 

 

“Chocolate?” 

 

“Of course.” 

 

Ellen had a smug smile and reached out her little hand in the air, I shook her hand and smiled  just  as smug ly back. 

 

“Deal.”

 

She was a future lawyer. Or maybe I was  too damn eager to please my children. Probably the  later . I would probably paint the entire Sistine Chapel in their rooms if they asked. 

 

“Alright, let’s go Claire.” 

 

“Bye, my loves.” Claire blew kisses at them with her hand. She was more unsure of leaving them as they were to leave her. 

 

——

  
  


Inside the taxi, I asked the driver to take us directly to the hotel instead of the restaurant.

 

“Jamie? What about our reservation? We are not going to make it. We don’t  _ need _ to check in now.”

 

“Oh I know.”

 

“Then why...?” Claire stopped talking when it dawned exactly what I had in mind. “We are not going, are we?”

 

“No, Mrs Fraser. We are not going to the restaurant.”

 

“Why did I even  _ bother _ getting ready?”

 

We pass streetlight after streetlight. The driver wasn’t paying us any attention. I moved closer and then placed my hand on her thigh, right where her dress ended. She didn’t wear any stockings, it was my warm skin against hers.

 

“Ye can blame yer dress.” I whispered into her ear softly, then I  nibbled on it, just the right way I knew would give her goosebumps.

 

“Oh really?”

 

In the dark. In backseat I saw her eyes gazing into mine with a sudden hunger. It had been so long, weeks, since...

 

“Aye.” I answered softly and my hand slipped under the fabric. “I wanted ye the second ye walked down the stairs and I dinna think I’d last having dinner first.” 

 

To my surprise and delight, Claire slowly spread her legs, just a little, just to make it easier for me to touch more. I kissed her neck and she sighed softly, my fingers traveling  up...

 

“Christ.” I said a little to o loud, getting the taxi driver’s attention. I waited until he was focusing on the road again. 

 

“Ye little devil, yer not wearing any panties?”

 

“You don’t wear panties  with a dress like this.” 

 

“ Another reason why I love this dress then.”

 

Claire spread her legs a little more and I closed my eyes for a second when I felt the slick and wet folds of her. If we didn’t arrive to the hotel soon, I was scared I was going to take her there and then in the backseat, not  giving a shit who saw us. I was already so hard and my cock was pressing against my pants.

 

“When you find out how much it cost, I’m sure you won’t like it as much,” Claire teased and took my hand away.

 

“I promise, this dress was worth every penny and I will feel  _ exactly _ the same when I have ripped it in pieces.”

 

“Don’t you dare.” 

 

“What are ye going to do about it?” I teased her back. 

 

A big and wide grin spread on my wife’s face. She looked a little like she was blushing too.

 

“Mr. Fraser, your wife is no longer weak and unable to protect herself. I think I might surprise you.” Claire was seducing me now. “And I brought handcuffs to set you in place.” 

 

“Fuck, that’s hot! “ I felt even more impatient. “I have never had sex with a cop before.” I smiled widely. 

 

“I have.” Claire’s hand found my crouch. “And I promise you, it’s incredible.”

 

Claire leaned in, close to my face and I breathed her in. Her breath, the new perfume she wore. We were  just  us, just Jamie and Claire, and  there was still the same electric cosmic spark between us. I had feared parenthood had taken  away  the best of us. 

 

Smiling, I closed the distance,  kissing her hard and then harder. I couldn’t get enough. I wanted her, needed her closer. 

 

When we parted, I was out of breath and I couldn’t stop looking at her. We were just a little over thirty, but we still acted like giddy teenagers. 

 

My erection was starting to get painful.  _ Aren’t we there yet?  _ I wanted to show my badge to the taxi driver and beg him to drive faster. 

 

When we  _ finally _ arrived at the hotel, I needed to carry the bag we had brought in front of me to hide my co c kstand. Claire teased me the entire way to the reception desk with her f lirty eyes and swaying her hips back and forth.

  
  


The very second the elevator door closed, I surprised Claire when I pushed her up against the wall. I couldn’t wait, the fifth floor felt like ten thousand miles away. I kissed her neck, her  collarbone , my hands roaming all over her body. 

 

“I want to fuck you, _so_ _badly_.” I pressed my body against her, wanting her to feel how much I wanted her. “I’m losing my mind, Claire.”

 

“Me too.” She breathlessly said back. “I want you.  _ God, _ I want you so much.”

 

The attraction. The wanting. It was maddening. I could hear my own heart beating louder and louder. 

 

_ Pling _ . The elevator opened and I grabbed our ba g from the floor, I almost forgot about it. I just wanted to get to our room and have her naked.

 

“Just a heads up.” I closed the door. “You have exactly ten seconds before I rip that dress apart.”

 

Claire sat on the edge of bed and she just shook her head. She did nothing to undress herself.

 

“I don’t think so, I’m the one making the rules now.” 

 

“Haven’t ye teased me long enough?” 

 

“We are just getting started, baby.” Claire smiled and bit down her lower lip. 

 

“Claire…”

 

“No, no,” Claire interrupted me. “It’s  O fficer Fraser right now.”

 

“Alright, Officer Fraser.” I could play along with this. “I was serious, drop the dress or else.”

 

“Threatening now? I guess I  _ need _ to arrest you, then. Are you going to come over here willingly or do I have to get physical.”

 

“Oh I’ll come willingly.”

 

“To bad.”

 

I walked across the room and sat down next to Claire on the bed.

 

“What is going to happened now, Officer Fraser.” I asked, grinning. “Is this what they teach the new recruits now?”

 

“Nobody has  taught me what I am about to do with you.” 

 

“What are ye going to do?” I definitely wanted to play now. I liked this Claire, the confident woman who took what she wanted.

 

“So many questions…” Claire teased. “Just do as I say, and this will be as comfortable as it can  be .”

 

Claire left the bed and I stayed seated. She hadn’t asked me to follow.

 

“Take your clothes off.” 

 

“Everything?”

 

“Mmhm...” Claire smiled widely, a noticeable hunger in her eyes. “I want you completely naked.”

 

Without breaking eye contact. I undressed until there was not a single thread left on my body. I stood before her naked, my body evidently aroused, my cock hard and standing for her. 

 

My confidence only grew. Just as I worshiped her body, she loved mine, scars and all. I stretched out my body, making me look bigger and flexed my muscles.  _ I can play as well. _ I wanted to tease her too. 

 

_ Ha _ , I was affecting her. My beautiful wife looked like a cougar watching her prey, ready to attack any second. 

 

_ Now what? _ I wondered, when Claire silently walked over to the chair standing in the corner, where our bag was. She started ruffling around, searching for something.

 

A  metallic sound  came from the handcuffs and then she picked them up.

 

“Lay down on the bed.” Claire d an geled the cuffs  from her hand. 

 

A bit hesitant, I slowly moved to the bed and did as she  said . I looked up  at the bed frame, it was a golden painted wooden frame.

 

Claire climbed onto the bed.

 

“Your hands, please.”

 

“Seems a bit har sh , what have I done to deserve this?” I said, smiling. I was loving this. “All I wanted was to fuck my wife. Is that a crime?”

 

Claire smiled back and cuffed both  of  my wrist s , a bit too hard, but I didn’t question it.

 

“You do not have to say anything.” Claire said. “But it may harm your defen s e if you do not mention something which you later rely on in court when  being questioned. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”

 

“You haven’t said for  _ what _ I am being arrested, Officer.”

 

“For being incredibly hot.” Claire almost laughed. “And for not taking your wife to the restaurant.”

 

“Oh, I see. Anything else?”

 

“And...For not  washing the dishes yesterday.” Claire turned around, then climbed off the bed again.

 

“Please, Officer. There has to be something I can do?” I sounded like an awful porn actor. “I’m guilty, but I canna go to jail, please, I have a family.”

 

“I guess you should have thought about that before you so very selfishly decided to wear that sexy outfit.” If anyone had heard this, they would have laughed, but we didn’t. We were in character. “Mr. Fraser, you know it’s criminal to look that hot in public. That shirt and those pants... I had no choice  but to take them away, for everyone sake.”

 

_ Thank God.  _ Claire started pulling down the zipper o f her dress. 

 

Just a little of her skin showing and I got way, way t o o excited. My cock twitched and I smiled widely.

 

“You don’t look that regretful.”

 

“I refuse to answer on the grounds I might incriminate myself.” I answered and smiled even wider. 

 

I already knew she wasn’t wearing any panties and that she didn’t wear a bra either  which wasn’t that surprising, but she kept her heels on.  _ Goddess.  _ That’s  what she looked  like . 

 

That was the mother of my children, radiant  and smiling at me. The power she held enchant ed me. I took her in, all of her, with the pink stretch mark s she so proudly wore, her breasts, the skin I knew was so soft.  _ Gorgeous.  _ The visible new abs she had gotten lately from training. She was shining, glowing brighter than she had in a long time. She was so confident. 

 

“It feels like it has been forever, since I saw ye like this.” 

 

Being parents had its perks, but getting alone time wasn’t one of them. We hadn’t slept  _ alone _ in our bed for so long.

 

“Do you like what you see?” 

 

“I’m questioning my entire existence,  _ Claire _ . I still sometimes can’t believe what I did to deserve ye. Christ, the way yer glowing right now.”

 

“It’s my highlighter.” Claire gave me a pose and I laughed. Highlighter, whatever that was. We weren’t role playing anymore. We were Claire and Jamie again. Husband and wife.

 

I sat upright, my hands still tied and I pointed my finger at her and motion ed for her to come closer.

 

The room was quite chilly and I had soften ed a little. I was done with  the  games, done with not touching her. Claire climbed back  on the bed and straddle d me, I lifted my handcuffed arms over her head so she was trapped inside my arms. Her warm skin against mine. 

  
  


Moments later, Claire released me from the handcuffs. How long exactly I had been trapped to the bed frame,  I was unsure. Long enough for my wife to have her way with me. It was  _ glorious _ . It was exciting. A bit painful, but very new and trilling. 

 

Claire demanded  that I  lay still on my back and as I willingly waited, she had poured some kind of lotion in her hand, she later explained was lubricant.  _ Strawberry s _ _ cented _ _ lube.  _

 

She massaged my cock with it, then licked and sucked until I was sure I was going to explode. When I was on the verge, she climbed on top again, straddl ing my body. I mostly t h rusted upwards and had one hand on her hip as she sat on top, riding me. She was bossy and ordering me about.  _ Faster, harder, more, more. _

 

It was  as if I was  an imaginary beach and Claire was the ocean- we came crashing together, wave after wave until a tsunami overtook us both.

 

I was impressed by how long I could hold out, it had been so long since  we had done this , but I lasted.  _ Fist in the air  _ _ in victory _ _.  _ Claire came twice before I finally finished and the last thrust was so powerful it gave me shivers down my spine.

 

The little key went into the lock and I was free from my chains. It wasn’t until now I felt the small burning pain from where the handcuffs had been. 

 

“I’m sorry.” Claire sincerely apologized when she saw my bruised wrists. Her fingers lingered over the red marks from the handcuffs and then she kissed the pain away. 

 

_ What  _ _ did _ _ you expect? _ I wondered, amused.  They w ere n’t fake, plastic furry playthings. They were real. They were mine.

 

“Is it my turn now?” 

 

“Your turn to do what?” Claire asked, confused as she laid down next to me again. Her hair was a mess of beautiful curls. 

 

I reached out and took the handcuffs from the nightstand and jingled them on my finger. 

 

“I have been married to ye for nine years and not once have ye let me use these on ye.”

 

“You never asked.” 

 

She was right, I had never asked. The thought  had  remarkably, and boringly, never dawned me either. It opened up  a  whole new world  of things I wanted to do with her. 

 

“A small suggestion for the future.” Claire said. “Don’t ask.”

 

“Oh really.” I wiggled my eyebrows. “Does that mean I have lifetime consent? I can do whatever I want?”

 

“You can tie me up, bend me in to any position and fuck me anyway you can, Jamie.” Claire looked pleased. “Just make sure I come.”

 

_ Oh God, yes. _

 

Just the thought of doing  _ whatever _ I wanted with her, made me hard again. I moved closer and pressed myself against her. Claire giggled, turned so she laid on her back with me over her. 

 

Our bodies flushed closely together. 

 

“I have missed this.” My lips softly brushed over hers. “To be alone with ye. Just to have this silence, the only sounds  are the ones  coming from ye when ye make yer those wonderful sounds when I take ye.”

 

“It has been awhile since we had sex in a bed.” She answered, whispering against my lips. “Not that I didn’t like the last time in the closet.”

 

“I’m two meter s tall, it wasn’t the most comfortable for me.”

 

“Maybe you should build a bigger closet.” Claire’s hands were on my back. “But I do enjoy this, to be able to have all of you.” 

 

Claire pinched and squeezed my ass. 

 

“I want you all the time, Claire. Sometimes when I know you are in the shower, alone, I can picture you using the shower head, pressing it right...here.”

 

Claire moaned softly and sighed in pleasure when I slowly started circling her clit with my fingers.

 

“Do you think of me, when ye touch yerself.” I asked as I pressed a little harder, making her breathing heavier.

 

“I do.” She breathlessly answered.

 

An uncontrollable lust for each other igniting instantly. I kissed her lips hard and my tongue found hers. She tasted sweet, like she had been eating candy and I remembered the strawberry s cented lube she had brought and used on me.

 

For a second, I thought of searching for it to use on her, but I didn’t want to release her. 

 

Then we were moving in a fr enzy once more, both panting. I moved my hand faster and more urgently. She was wet.  _ Oh lord,  _ so wet. She didn’t need lube. 

 

I entered her in one powerful thrust. Both of us simultaneously moaning in pleasure as I did. I filled her completely again and my hands were holding onto her  _ body _ as she rocked against me with each thrust, wanting more. 

 

Each push was deliberate. First slow then, hard. Slow then hard against. Her body pulsed in tune with mine. 

 

Over and over again.   
  
“Mmm...Jamie...Ah.” She moaned, and a grin spread across my cheeks. How I loved how much she wanted me.

 

“What’s...so…funny?” 

 

I slowly increase my speed and looked into her eyes. 

 

“I love the way you say my name.” 

 

“Like this...” Claire said seductively. “Jaamiee. Oh yes. Just like that, Jaamie” 

 

“Ah, yeah. Just like that.” I answered, and closed my eyes. It was so arousing. That I was the only one on her mind.

 

“Faster  _ Jamie _ .” She urged me , deliberately using my name again. 

 

An overwhelming tingling feeling flooded through me. It was maddening and it felt like i couldn’t get enough, get deep enough. I needed more.

 

I moaned, then switched position. 

 

I stood  on my knees  with her legs up in the air, resting against my shoulders. My grip  firm  on  her body, keeping her where I wanted her, pounding harder and harder into her.

 

“Oh God.” It was a moan escaping Claire’s mouth again,  and it almost sounded painful. Like I was hurting her. I looked down at her, searching, but there wasn’t  any sign of hurt, just the same hunger, hunger for more.

 

I was so deep in her and I wanted to drown in the deepest part of her.  _ Oh God _ , the sensation. The desperate thirst for more. 

 

I’m going to come, Jamie.”   
  
“Ah, God, yes, I’m… I'm almost there too.” I groaned. “Take yerself there,  _ Claire _ .” 

 

Claire slipped her hand between her legs and fingered her clit. It  only  took seconds, then she arched her back as a bow.

 

Victorious, I felt her body shake and how she started clenching internally around me and I held her hips still as I continued moving inside her. Her face, her moaning and shouts of pleasure, that was all it took, just watching her before I was overwhelmed, with one final hard rock with my hips I poured into her, every inch of my body flooded with warmth, then I collapsed against her neck.

 

My head pressed hard into her shoulder, I maybe even bit her there as my orgasm washed over me. How I had once more  moved  into this position was a mystery. Her hands on my back, rocking my body as my body was stiffening, unable to move.

 

“I’m glad you  _ still _ want me like this.” Claire had said. “Three kids and ten years later.”

 

I pulled out and quickly laid down next to her and wrapped her into my embrace. 

 

“Claire. I will  _ always _ want you.” I said softly. “Every day there is something new. I’m falling in love with you more each year, falling so deep I’m scared of drowning.”

 

A second of awkwardness when I realised what word I had used.  _ Drowning.  _

 

Thankfully, Claire didn’t flinch or even look affected by the word. If she had, she wasn’t showing it.

 

“I just hope you want me like this when I’m old and grey.” I kissed her softly on her cheek. 

 

“Oh I will, I promise.” Claire answered happily. “You are already starting to go grey and I will continue to want you even when you are saggy and blind as a bat.”

 

I broke down and started laughing so hard tears fell. 

 

“Who said anything about saggy? Maybe blind but I will never be saggy.” 

 

My eyesight had become worse in the past years, it wasn’t long until I was going to wear glasses at all times, not just when I read.

 

“You and me to the old days.” Claire laughed as well. “Surrounded by grandkids, sitting on the porch, saggy and old together.” 

 

In the aftermath, we were hungry and exhausted. But still satisfied. As Claire was taking a quick shower, I ordered room service. Claire had been on a strange strike diet these few weeks,  eating chicken and rice almost everyday, so I thought I’d just order everything. 

 

Everything she likes.

 

_ Cheeseburger with Fries. Pancakes. Mozzarella sticks. Chocolate cake. Pizza. Thai food. Two bottles of red wine. _

 

We sat close together on the bed, Claire in a white robe and I in my boxers. We drank wine and ate until I thought I would go in a coma and never wake up again. It was delicious. The plasma TV in front of the bed was on.  _ The Philadelphia Story.  _ Old black and white classics, Claire’s new obsession.

 

“Is there anymore wine?” Claire held  up her empty glass and looked surprise that it was.

 

“Aye.” Laughing, I reached out and took the bottle,  there wasn’t much left. “Maybe we should order some more.” 

 

“Oh,  _ goodie _ .” Claire’s Katharine Hepburn impression was flawless. Maybe it was the wine. We were both warm and tipsy.

 

“Are ye going to talk like that all night?” I poured the last  of the  wine into her glass.

 

“Put me in your pocket, Mike.” Claire continued to be Tracy. 

 

“That means yes, I presume.”

 

Suddenly the TV screen became blurry and started sounding strange. I frowned.  _ What’s going on? _ The black and white image of Tracy in the garden became a blur of color instead. 

 

“ _ I’m sorry to interrupt. _ ” A dark and scrambled  voice said. Then a animated face appeared on the TV. “ _ I will be quick, I promise _ .”

 

“That the hell?” Claire said. “What is this?”

 

It looked like the intro of  a  strange child ’s program. But at the same time not appropriate for children to watch. 

 

“Dinna ken, wait. I’ll change  it .” I said and tried to change the channel with the remote.

 

But it was the same thing on every single channel. The same face. The same twisted human liked animation. His smile was unnatural. 

 

“ _ I want to play a word game with you _ .” The animated face said. The way he sounded, it was  making me  uncomfortable. 

 

**_ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _**

 

Lines appeared on the TV,  looking like one of those game shows, where you call in and guess the word.

 

I was right. It didn’t take long until a phone number appeared in the right corner.

 

“ _ Call in and guess a letter until we have our name. _ ” The little animated face was now in the left corner. “ _ The pot is huge, huge, huge _ .”

 

We stayed quite and I don’t know why I didn’t turn off the TV, it was sometimes with the un easy , smiling face that made me nervous. I needed to know what was going on. Maybe it was just a glitch?

 

It didn’t take long until people started ringing in, guessing letter after letter.

 

**D _ n_an  E_ll_s**

 

The little smiling face was getting bigger  with  each right letter. 

 

“I don’t like this.” Claire had been quite for a long time. “Jamie, what do you think this is?”

 

“I honestly have no idea.”

 

“His voice is scaring me.”

 

“Aye, it’s some strange mix of the guy in  _ Saw _ and a clown.”

 

“That’s exactly what I thought.”

 

There was just one empty space left. The first name was Duncan. 

 

“Hi, I think the last letter is  **i** .” It was a woman calling.

 

**Duncan Ellis**

 

“ _ Congratulations _ .” The dark voice laughed as the name, Duncan Ellis, started blinking. “ _ What’s your name? _ ” The voice asked.

 

“Ava.” She answered.

 

“Ava, you have won.” Balloons appeared on the screen. “Do you want to know your price?”

 

“Aye.” The woman was Scottish then. “What do I win?”

 

“A two week long vacation to Tokyo.” 

 

The woman became hysterical, screaming with joy and I was confused as hell. What was the purpose of this? 

 

“ _ I’m going to explain the rules now _ .  _ It is simple and fun. You guess the name and I kill them.” _

 

“What the fuck?” Claire looked at me. 

 

_ “Duncan Ellis, I  _ _ am  _ _ coming for you. No need to run and hide. I will find you.” _

 

Poof. Just like that,  _ The Philadelphia Story  _ was back on the screen.

 

“It has be some messed up prank, right?” Claire spoke again. She sounded worried and that  was  exactly how I felt too.

 

“I hope so.” I answered, somehow it didn’t feel real, it had to be some bored teenager with the skills to hack. 

 

I was wrong. A man called  _ Duncan Ellis  _ had been found dead in his apartment. His bloody body had been found on the floor, his arms crossed, and two foreign golden coins on top of his eyes.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lovely, talented and sweetest @purpleheatherdream was beta again, idk how she isn’t sick of me yet ❤️

**_16 May 2020_ **

 

**_Saturday._ **

 

Making romantic gestures had always been something I stumbled  over , but  as the years passed they  were getting easier because I stopped overthinking  them . Claire never wanted diamonds or  to  be showered in roses. She loved the simplicity of me being extra thoughtful when she wasn’t expecting it. 

 

When I woke up the following morning, it was raining outside and Claire was already wide awake. She was lying close next to me and staring up  at  the ceiling, so lost in her own thoughts she didn’t even notice that I was awake. 

 

Something was  _ still _ troubling her. 

 

After all the commotion yesterday, we had of course talked during the night about that game show and, later on, about Duncan Ellis who had been found dead, murdered in his apartment. Angus had been the one who called  to notify me  that it was a homicide case. 

 

I really wished it had been a joke, a terrible joke.

 

“Good morning,” I said softly and delicately took her hand in mine. “Have ye been up long?”

 

“Maybe. I don’t know what time it is.”

 

Normally, that was a problem  of luxury . 

 

“What’s on yer mind, love.” I moved even closer and Claire turned to face me as I wrapped her gently into my arms. She was warmer than normal  and  sweating.

 

“For two years, I have been nothing but determined. I have worked so hard, pushed myself to the point of almost breaking and now…” Claire stopped talking for a second. “I’m just scared- what happened yesterday really scared me, Jamie... and I’m just questioning myself… if I can do this.”

 

Like Claire said, she really had worked and trained so hard, both mentally and physically for this opportunity. Compared to the way she usually talked, and how motivated and fearless she usually acted, this really set me aback. In my startlement, I felt something deep inside of me urging me to convince her to just not do it, not to become a policewoman and be somewhere safe. 

 

But I wasn’t that kind of husband, or at least that wasn’t  what I wanted to be, unsupportive and selfish.  _ No _ .

 

“Claire, I get it. I ken it’s scary at first, but that feeling will go away, not all of it but it will  become bearable. I  _ promise _ . Ye are going to be amazing,” I said with confidence. “With your passionate personality and medical skills, yer going to kick everyone’s ass, even mine.”

 

Claire smiled, leaned closer and kissed me lightly, lingering against my lips. _My_ _love._ Then she slowly retreated and sighed softly. Maybe, hopefully I had comforted some of her early morning concerns.

 

“What is it  _ exactly _ that scar e s ye?” 

 

“The murderer. I’m used to seeing blood and damaged people but seeing behind the scenes and knowing that that the person who did it is still out there, it just gets under my skin and I haven’t even started working yet.”

 

Angus  sent me photos from the crime scene yesterday and a few  more  pictures of the body of the victim. I had shown them to Claire after she asked to see,  but  maybe I shouldn’t have.

 

“Is it comforting  to know  that yer going to be handling completely different cases, milder ones?” I asked her. “I mean, yer duties will be different from mine.”

 

“You aren’t going to have that case, are you?”

 

“I dinna ken, probably not.”

 

Claire sighed again, this time louder.

 

“Fear is like an invisible monster feeding on yer insecurities, Claire. It hurts to be human. But we are  _ not _ born to fear things, that is sadly something that is taught... but it can be reversed. Whatever that scares ye now, will be  _ less _ scary each day.”

 

I always have wondered why it’s so easy to give others advice and still not live by  it  myself. 

 

“How about the fear of losing you.” Claire answered quietly. “I have always respected your profession and what you do, Jamie. Maybe I was oblivious, or just didn’t want to know what kind of danger you were facing and now... I can’t unlearn or unsee it.”

 

“That’s beyond our control, I’m afraid.” I answered, conflicted. “How do ye think I feel? I was pretty satisfied when ye were a doctor, it felt  like it was harmless and  _ still _ I worried everyday, and now? Yer going to be out there too, wearing your uniform and I’m going to be thinking every second of every day about ye, Claire.”

 

Claire snuggled into my neck and I wrapped my arms tighter around her waist. We both knew that this day  was going to come,  yet we still hadn’t sincerely discussed our fears. I only wanted to be supportive while she was obviously keeping  up  a  brave face. 

 

I wanted to say it was okay, tell her that she didn’t have to do it. But the words got stuck in my mouth. 

 

“We are being silly, we will be alright.” Claire said, her muffled voice tickling me. 

 

“Just don’t be reckless.” I answered, still being serious about the subject. “I know ye, Claire. Right now, ye feel nervous but I know ye will act too fast on yer impulses to save people. Just think twice, before ye jump into whatever.”

 

“Back atcha.” Claire quickly answered and peeked her head back, her eyes gazing into mine. “I’m not the one running into the fire  _ instead _ of away from it.”

 

“Well, don’t be inside the burning building and we will be fine.”

 

I smiled softly and it seem to be contagious because Claire returned the smile. We had been through so much, it was heartwarming that we could talk about heavy incidents without breaking anymore. When she looked at me like that, it was far too easy to forget all about the world and the darkness it held.

 

Still, I always prayed to God that we had been through enough. 

 

“I’m hungry...” Claire suddenly said and I started to laugh. If this was her way of changing the subject, I fully approved  of it. “Room service?”

 

Thinking about it, food sounded like a perfect idea, but what I had in mind sounded even better. We could have breakfast anytime, but this, being naked and alone…  it was too rare to waste on eating,  on  food at least…

 

“What are you doing?” Claire yelped in surprise as I stopped her physically  by  rolling on top of her, so she couldn’t reach the phone, my body pressing hers down.

 

“Shhh…Do you hear that?” I hushed her and she started laughing again. “That’s silence, do ye really want to interrupt that? In a few hours, we are going to go back to the house and I promise, there won't be anything remotely close to silence over there.”

 

“So…” Claire was trapped under me. “What do you propose we do with this silence, then?”

 

I swear I could physically feel the sexual tension building up.

 

“Ah, ye dinna need to be silent. In fact, I would feel encouraged the louder ye sound.” 

 

Before Claire got the chance to say something back, I was already on my way down, placing quick and light kisses on her body.  Nuzzling the soft skin of her neck, my fingers  drew  slowly along her collarbone until my thumb rested in the hollow of her throat, then I kissed her breast and then the other one. Her body was warm  and  her skin felt so smooth against mine. 

 

Sometimes I wished I could go back to the first time when I didn’t know what she liked or how she liked it.  So I could explore and discover her all over again.

 

It was a somewhat ordinary day,  a cold and rainy May morning, but here, in the warmth  we made , there was nothing but love and passion.

 

It was sensational how Claire responded to my touch. To my hands. To my fingers. Especially to my tongue. 

 

Her legs spreading wider. 

 

“ _ Oh… _ ”

 

Her hand on my head, her fingers intertwined  with my hair, grip ping hard and pulling me closer.

 

“ _ Ah _ ...”

 

I looked up to see her eyes closed  and her mouth slightly open as she continued to moan.  She was breathing so  very  heavy.  

 

My tongue  started licking slowly and lightly. Small motions up and down, just  the way she liked it. 

 

“ _ Jamie… _ ”

 

She tasted salty. She tasted like herself and her taste drove me mad. It was supposed to be for her pleasure but just giving it to her, knowing I made her feel like this, satisfied me in a way nothing else could. 

 

My hands  slid under her ass, lifting her up  slightly in the air and closer to my face. It was addictive, she was my  personal drug. My body responded in a way that made me feel dizzy. I wanted her. I wanted to make her come. I wanted to feel her body spasm and shake out of control.

 

Her small panting noises became louder.

 

“Ah... _ yes yes yes _ .” 

 

My  tongue work ed harder, circling and stimulating her clit. Claire’s grip painfully tightened  o n my hair and her body suddenly stiffened, then her legs started shaking,  before  closing and trapping my head as her orgasm washed over her. 

 

Claire. _My_ _Claire_. Everything and everyone else paled in comparison.

 

Moments  later I crawled back up and victoriously laid flat on my stomach, next to Claire again.

 

“Was it as good as ye made it sound?” I boldly asked my panting wife.

 

“So cocky,” she replied and I wiggled my eyebrows. I was damn confident.

 

“Aye, a man needs to please his wife and when he does, he is entitled to be cocky. Because he ’s earned the right.”

 

“You are so weird.” 

 

“Thank ye.” 

 

“How huge is your ego right now?” Claire raised one eyebrow at me. 

 

“As big as my cock,” I boldly stated again and abruptly sat up on my knees with a smug face as Claire looked down to my cock, dangling hard between my thighs.

 

“It’s enormous, then.” Claire sat up on her knees as well. 

 

My blood was already pumping. I loved her dirty talk and it could easily  be  this “innocent” or explode into  a  role-playing woman who needed to fix her pipes and couldn’t afford to pay the handyman.

 

She laid her  hands on my chest. 

 

“I love how you, from the start, have always put my pleasure first.” Claire kissed my neck, the spot where she knew I was ticklish. “It takes practice and husband, you have, oh god how you have practiced. Almost like I was  an event in the Olympic games...”

 

I chucked at that. 

 

“I don’t think any man out there loves his wife as you love me,” Claire continued. “To be loved  in  the way you love, it’s beautiful.”

 

It was passionate and light. Claire was obviously not going to ex pand the conversation into anything dark and twisted and I didn’t mind. I closed my eyes and let my other senses feel. 

 

I got more and more goosebumps when she continued to kiss my body. 

 

“Do you want me to take you in my mouth?” she asked and I opened my eyes and looked down  to her.

 

Claire  was eye level  with my cock, her hands slowly teasing and caressing the area around  it , but not touching anything of importance.

 

Such a tease.  As  always.

 

**_———-_ **

 

**_Home._ **

 

**_Sunday._ **

 

A handful of pretend pixie dust  was  in my right hand and a small twig with two small green leaves on it, in my other hand. The life of being a father, one of many situations where I needed to multitask. 

 

I was Groot in Sophie and Ellen’s imaginary play but I also had the same powers as Tinkerbell,  which was why I had  the  pixie dust. 

 

_ I am Groot. _ That was my one and only line and it was my favorite game to be involved in. 

 

Embracing my innermost geeky dreams that everyone in my family would be Marvel enthusiasts had been my goal from the beginning. Thank God for  the Disney Store and their fast delivery. I couldn’t show my two year olds the movies, but I could easily hide some Marvel toys in their rooms. It was a sweet  yet  slow process to make them love  the  characters unknowingly. 

 

Claire doesn’t like Marvel, or so she claims. I know she  was lying about being a DC fan, just to provoke me.  _ Damn woman. Like Batman is exciting? Anyone can jump around in a suit. George Clooney in a suit? No. _

 

“Where is Sander?” I asked Claire,  who  was laying on the couch , eyes closed  with  her arms above her head. 

 

“Maybe in his room?” Claire opened her eyes and  looked tired. “I’ll check.”

 

Our house only had one floor- three kids and stairs  just  didn’t add up. 

 

Claire walked out of the living room and I heard her call out for Sander. I waited until I heard his adorable angelic voice, then continued  being  a tree.

 

“I am Groot,” I  repeated  for the  hundredth time. “Groot wants to eat.”

 

“Daddy, you canna say so,” Ellen said and crossed her arms. “Groot doesn’t say that.”

 

“But daddy does and he is hungry.” 

 

“ Eww always hung-ry,” Little Sophie tuned in and came to rise from the floor to stand, as her sister  was, with her arms crossed. 

 

Observant and outspoken, two words  that  described all my children, especially the ladies in the house.

 

“I am, and you two look  _ delicious.. _ .” I  let loose a n animalistic rawr and put both my arms out in the air,  making both girls started  to  scream enthusiastic ally . 

 

“I’m Groot and I’m going to eat ye.”

 

I started chasing Sophie first. Her chubby little legs ran as fast as they could but I caught her quickly before picking her up, and tickling her until she laughed with that heartwarming laugh only a child could have, and then continued my hunt for  her  big sister with Sophie still hanging on my arm. 

 

Ellen had left the living room,  but I heard someone giggling from afar. I took a chance and walked into the kitchen, my  feet  soundless on the grey linoleum floor but Sophie was laughing. 

 

“Ye are ruining it for daddy,” I said to Sophie and chuckled. “I need to find yer sister, so I can eat her as well.”

 

I looked under our dining table. No Ellen there. Maybe she wasn’t in the kitchen? 

 

“Mama big, eat her.” Sophie laughed some more.

 

“Oh, Maybe Ellen is hiding in yer room, with Mama and Sander. Hopefully she is, so… I can eat... every single one of you!” I pretended that I was going to eat Sophie again, roaring like I-don’t-know-what and nuzzling her neck. 

 

W ere ticking spots inherited? Because me and my kids  were ticklish  in the same spots. 

 

“Marco,” a child’s voice called out from somewhere. 

 

Ellen was apparently playing hide and seek now.

 

“Polo,” I answered enthusiastically as I tried to figure out where Ellen was hiding.

 

I walked into the twins’ room, still carrying Sophie. Claire sat on the bed to the right  where  she was reading a book to Sander  while yawning  loudly  when she saw us sneaking about.

 

“Have ye seen a little girl, about this h e ight?” I asked Sander who immediately flew up from his bed, also wanting to play. “She was wearing a yellow sweater and white pants, have ye seen her?”

 

Sander pulled out his pacifier and started pointing towards Sophie’s bed  where there was very obviously a four year old hiding beneath the covers.

 

“Hmm… that looks suspicious.” I turned to Sander again. “ Has Sophie’s bed always looked like that?”

 

“No, no it hasn’t daddy.” Sander answered excitedly and started sneaking towards the bed. 

 

“Looks good to me.” Claire smiled towards Sander. “Isn’t that how  it’s supposed to look.”

 

“Mama, Ellie is there.” Sophie said, so sure and oblivious of Claire’s jokes.

 

“Aye.” Sander agreed. 

 

I  stood right next to the bed  and gently put Sophie down on the floor a s the little pile under the covers  giggled , probably very aware of being discovered any second. 

 

“Marco.” 

 

“Christ.” I exaggerated my shock. “The pile is talking. Let’s take her!”

 

As if the twins  were waiting for the start ing shot, they jumped onto the bed, both smiling and laughing hysterically when they found their big sister.

 

“Daddy, did I hide good?” Ellen asked and threw herself into my arms.

 

“Aye, lass I almost didn’t find ye.”

 

Ellen started smiling and glowing with pride. 

 

“Daddy wouldn’t be as good as you  at hid ing .” Claire said. “He is too tall.”

 

“What?” I tried to look offended. “Me? If I tried, ye wouldn’t find me.”

 

“We can, we can!” All  the  kids shouted together. 

 

“Go hide, Daddy.” Claire looked smug, like this was her plan all along.

 

“Alright. Count to one million and I’ll hide.”

 

The children,  first  and foremost Ellen, started counting and I rushed out  of the room.

 

The only place I actually could use to hide was the closet in my bedroom and that would probably be the first place they looked.

 

Unimaginative ly , I hid under the kitchen table and they found me straight away. Sophie had been so excited to find me she ran straight into the edge of the table and hit her face. Claire said it was harmless, but she was bleeding so much from her mouth. Poor lass. I was afraid she  would  need to go to the dentist, but Claire repeatedly and convincingly said that it looked worse than it was.

 

Hours later, I was still thinking about it. I wonder ed if I  was the only one unconsciously holding my breath  and  imagine  e nvision a traumatic experience that never happened but easily could have? Because I do it all the time, on a daily basis —Unperks (Yes a new invented word, thank you very much ) of being a father, you are scared of everything that  _ might _ harm your children. 

 

———

 

**_18 May 2020_ **

 

I had foolishly been wishing for an exciting case, how stupid of me. This was far too exciting, almost enough for a lifetime. Still, I was intrigued and actually fe lt very good about my job. Maybe my little break  from work had  sparked  my passion for  the occupation again. 

 

_ How do you find a faceless man?  _

_ How do you know who the next victim is going to be when  _ _ they  _ _ seem to be picked randomly.  _

 

The questions ran through me head as I w ent back at work. I had a new desk and everything. 

 

Monday.

 

I hadn’t expected to become the lead detective on this case. I had been away for so long that I just presumed that my coworker and also rival, Stephen Bonnet, was going to get the job. He was as surprised as I was. But the re was the  satisfaction of getting it was all the same.

 

The media circus that started after the crazy game show was almost ridiculous  with t he press constantly standing outside the station. They wanted answers. We  didn’t have  anything to give them yet. 

 

_ The  _ _ C _ _ oin  _ _ M _ _ an.  _ That was what they  were calling our game show killer. How the journalist, Betty Mitchell, that had written the article knew anything  about the case _ , especially  _ about the silver coins that the killer had left on Duncan eyes after he killed him was strange for me. Nobody was supposed to know anything until we had a press conference. So how did she know?

 

Sometimes, media exposure could be  a good  thing but definitely not in this case. No,  definitely not in this case.  Because I was sure that  it  was exactly what the killer wanted - the attention. Otherwise he wouldn’t have broadcasted his game show on every single  TV in Scotland. 

 

What was the purpose of this? 

Would he do it again?

Who was next?

 

Our first victim and hopefully  our  only one Duncan Ellis was as clean and innocent as  a person could be. His middle name should have been  a  saint.

 

Name:  **Duncan Ellis**

**Age: 39**

**Occupation: Charity worker**

**Other: Buzz cut short blond hair, brown eyes**

  
  


Everything you do becomes  a small ring on the water ’s surface. The decisions you make affects the ones around you.  Whether you want it to or not. I knew Claire didn’t want me to have this case,  and she  definitely  did  not  want me to  lead the investigation. I could  have  easily have turned it down, but something was cooking  under the surface  and I smelled  a  promotion. 

 

I just needed to tell her.

 

——-

 

“I’m shadowing someone today,” Claire told me when I came to her new desk, her own station. She sounded so happy, excited on working again. 

 

This was the first time since this morning we saw each other and also the first time I was seeing Claire in her uniform, operating as a policewoman  on  duty. God, she looked good. 

 

“Didn’t ye get assigned a partner?”

 

“Apparently they are still deciding, that’s why I’m shadowing.”

 

“And  _ who _ are ye shadowing?” 

 

“You.”

 

I frowned, surprised and not in a good way. I hadn’t told her about the case yet. 

 

“Isn’t that a conflict of interest? I mean, we are married.” I sounded nervous and she looked disappointed. “It’s not that I don’t want to work with ye…”

 

“What is it then?”

 

“It’s the case I’m working on, I don’t think ye want to be involved.”

 

“The  C oin M an?”

 

“Did ye know?”

 

“Of course I knew...Alec gave me the information before he told me to shadow you. Nevertheless, if I hadn’t known, your face  would’ve  said it already.”

 

“I wasn’t sure how ye were going to react.”

 

“Jamie, this is work. Forget what I said when I was your wife in a hotel room. Being here is different.”

 

“I’m not going to treat ye differently.”

 

“Jamie...We still need boundaries. A mix of being husband and wife with coworkers. Technically you are my superior, treat me as such.”

 

I looked at the photograph at her desk. All three of our children smiling  during  Christmas Eve last year.

 

“Fine. Just promise me, the second you feel uncomfortable or just want to leave, ye tell me.”

 

Claire smiled and nodded. 

 

“Officer Fraser.” I smiled back at her. “Ye ready for yer first crime scene?”

 

“Aye,” she quickly replied. “But I’m driving.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slow start, but hopefully there are still someone interested 😘 thanks for reading. I’m wouldn’t complain if you left a comment and some kudos ❤️

**Author's Note:**

> DID YOU LIKE IT?!!?!?? Somewhat anxiously waiting for feedback. I love you so much, thank you for reading!
> 
> Kudos are always appreciated ❤️


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